The goal of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project is to understand the evolution of coastal ecosystems on the northern gulf coast, the impact of human activities on these ecosystems, and the vulnerability of ecosystems and human communities to more frequent and more intense hurricanes in the future.

Regional scale interdisciplinary investigations of the geological - geomorphological - biophysical structure, physical and ecological processes, and spatial patterns of social vulnerability in response to storm hazards of the northern Gulf of Mexico landscape are a high national priority following the devastating hurricanes of 2005. Holocene geologic and climate evolution, historical ecosystem change, present and projected future ecosystem structure, and the associated hazards to human populations will be investigated in parallel within integrated studies.